Rea breaks WSBK points record with Qatar double

Jonathan Rea has taken the World Superbike points record with his double victory in Qatar to bring his campaign total to 556 points to surpass Colin Edwards’ record.

The three-time World Superbike champion has completed a record-breaking year with yet another double victory, equalling Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss for most doubles in a season, while beating Edwards’ points record of 552 thanks to his Losail International Circuit double to push his total to 556 for the year.

Rea made light work of carving his way to the front having followed Chaz Davies for the opening laps. After darting into the lead on lap four when Davies had a huge moment which almost threw him off his Aruba.it Racing Ducati, the 2017 champion eased out a slender advantage but looked comfortable throughout.

Davies’ main focus was on securing the runner-up spot in the World Superbike championship having taken a 10-point advantage on Tom Sykes in the Qatar opener. His task was effectively completed on lap four when Sykes low-sided off at turn 14 to hand Davies second place in the riders’ championship.

With Davies second, Pata Yamaha duo Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark made up for their double DNF in Friday’s race by finishing third and fourth respectively in the 2017 finale.

Behind the factory Yamaha pair Xavi Fores got the better of Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Marco Melandri for fifth place, while Eugene Laverty won a race-long tussle with Sylvain Guintoli for Milwaukee Aprilia to take seventh.

Leon Camier led home Roman Ramos and Raffaele De Rosa on his final appearance for MV Agusta in ninth, while Jake Gagne backed up his impressive race one result with another 12th place for Red Bull Honda. Alessandro Andreozzi, Ondrej Jezek and Roberto Rolfo completed the points finishers as Jeremy Guarnoni ended the race two laps down.